Complexity management for the start-up in lithium-ion cell production

This paper presents the core of a quality management methodology for production chain optimization, applicable from early design stages of production systems to the production start-up, as well as its application in lithium-ion cell production. The entire methodology was presented before [1]. The results of the methodology's first step, which is based on process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), are briefly described since the collected correlations are the input for the further steps. This paper describes how these correlations are transferred into correlation matrices and then propagated over the entire production chain by means of multiple domain matrices (MDM). The resulting production chain MDM provides parameters with direct or indirect influences on the quality parameters of the final product. Furthermore, relevant parameters are selected by an iterative application of MDM based production chain analyses in combination with Pareto analysis and experimental investigations. Proceeding steps quantify the identified influences and derive set point values for the individual processes by means of a multivariate optimization of the final cell quality considering the entire production chain.